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Only 20% of the South African information and communications technology (ICT) workforce are women, according to the Institute of Information Technology Professionals; the predominance of men in this industry is not limited to South Africa. In observance of Women’s Day, we want to highlight some leading women in tech.

While efforts continue to bring more women into the tech industry, there are a few who have already reached the top ranks in this male-dominated business.

Here are some leading lights within the industry whose accomplishments we’d like to celebrate on this Women’s Day.

Debbie Tam, Mustek Limited

Debbie Tam is the CEO of Mustek Limited, one of the largest computer- and peripheral-equipment manufacturers in South Africa.

Mustek works with many well-known computing products, including Mecer, Samsung, Lenovo and Toshiba, among other brands, across its various ICT divisions.

Thoko Mokgosi-Mwantemba, Kutana Investment Group

Thoko Mokgosi-Mwantemba is the CEO of Kutana Investments Group and has vast experience within the technological industry. Prior to establishing Kutana Investments, she held senior positions including Sales and Marketing Director at Lucent Technologies, Divisional MD of Siemens Telecommunications and, most recently, CEO of Hewlett Packard South Africa.

Emma Kaye, Bozza Media

Emma Kaye is the founder and CEO of Bozza Media, a digital-distribution platform that enables artists across Africa to connect with their fans, with locally relevant content online. Emma was nominated as the first African to sit on the board of the Mobile Entertainment Forum. She was also the first African to be selected as one of the top 50 global women in mobile entertainment.

Lynette Hundermark, Useful and Beautiful

Lynette Hundermark is the Co-founder and Managing Director of Useful and Beautiful, a company focused on mobile product strategy, design and development for apps and mobile sites. She has over 15 years experience in the tech, digital marketing, and mobile-solutions space, previously served as Business Director and Head of Product Strategy at Prezence Digital, and has developed apps such as Ster-kinekor.

Sarah Utermark, Opera Mediaworks

As Founder and CEO of AdVine, Sarah Utermark heads up Opera Mediaworks in Africa and is one of the thought leaders in the South African tech industry. She has been involved with digital-media and mobile-technology solutions for 14 years. AdVine manages the advertising sales on behalf of mobile publishers, while working with media-buying agencies to implement innovative mobile ad campaigns.

Sarah is currently the Vice-Chair of the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) South Africa.

We spoke to Sarah recently and asked her about her experiences about being a women in technology. See what she had to say, here: